Karnataka is expanding voluntary HIV awareness, counselling and testing services across colleges as health officials work to identify people living with undiagnosed HIV.
Karnataka has expanded HIV awareness, confidential counselling and voluntary testing across colleges, universities and workplaces as health officials work to identify people who may be living with the virus without knowing their status.
The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) is coordinating the initiative with Visvesvaraya Technological University, the Department of Collegiate Education and other educational institutions.
Colleges may be required to organise outreach activities and provide access to counselling and testing services. However, individual HIV testing remains voluntary and cannot be conducted without informed consent.
Recent media reports have cited more than 7,000 HIV diagnoses among students and young people aged 18 to 25. However, the publicly available information does not clearly establish that all those diagnosed were enrolled college students.
Voluntary HIV Outreach Expands Across Colleges
The campaign has been introduced across government, aided and private colleges, including engineering, diploma, medical and first-grade institutions.
Integrated Health Camps are expected to provide:
- HIV awareness and prevention information
- Confidential pre-test and post-test counselling
- Voluntary HIV screening
- Referral to authorised testing centres
- Linkage to free antiretroviral treatment
- Education aimed at reducing HIV-related stigma
Padma Basavanthappa, Project Director of KSAPS, told The New Indian Express, “We found one or two positive cases among college-going students, even in medical colleges.”
She clarified that the initiative does not make HIV testing compulsory. Its purpose is to help students understand their risk and voluntarily seek testing when necessary.(1✔ ✔Trusted Source
KSAPS launches awareness campaign in colleges, workplaces across Karnataka to promote HIV testing
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Reported 7,000 Diagnoses Need Clearer Context
Several reports state that more than 7,000 students and young people aged 18 to 25 have recently tested HIV positive in Karnataka.
The available reports appear to combine college students with the wider young-adult population. Therefore, the figure should not be described solely as 7,000 HIV-positive college students without a detailed student-specific dataset.
Reports citing KSAPS data also state that the number of people aged 18 to 35 recorded as living with HIV increased from approximately 44,500 in 2023-24 to 66,600 in 2025-26.
This increase should not automatically be interpreted as a rise in annual new infections. Higher numbers may also reflect increased testing, earlier diagnosis, improved reporting and longer survival among people receiving effective treatment.
Karnataka Works to Close Its HIV Diagnosis Gap
An estimated 56,406 people in Karnataka may be living with HIV without knowing their status, making early and voluntary testing a major public-health priority.
Karnataka has an estimated 2.60 lakh people living with HIV, while approximately 2,05,350 were alive and receiving antiretroviral therapy as of June 28, 2026. During 2025-26, more than 37.57 lakh people from the general population underwent HIV testing, leading to the detection of 11,322 new positive cases.
Nearly 11.98 lakh pregnant women were also tested, with 451 new positive cases identified. Another 1,009 pregnant women already known to be living with HIV were followed through care.(1✔ ✔Trusted Source
KSAPS launches awareness campaign in colleges, workplaces across Karnataka to promote HIV testing
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During the first two months of the 2026-27 financial year, 4.11 lakh people were tested and 2,057 positive cases were detected.
Early diagnosis allows people to begin treatment sooner, protect their immune system and reduce the likelihood of transmitting the virus.
BreakFree Tool Offers Confidential Risk Assessment
KSAPS has introduced a QR code-based self-risk assessment tool through its Mobilisation for AIDS Suraksha campaign.
The BreakFree tool allows users to answer seven questions anonymously to assess whether their behaviour or possible exposure may have placed them at risk of HIV.
People identified as potentially at risk are directed to nearby HIV testing centres or connected with counsellors for confidential guidance. The tool does not diagnose HIV. A person’s status can only be established through approved HIV testing and confirmation procedures.
The campaign supports the “Know Your Status” message and India’s 95-95-95 goals:
- 95% of people living with HIV should know their status
- 95% of those diagnosed should receive treatment
- 95% of those receiving treatment should achieve viral suppression
HIV Testing Requires Consent and Confidentiality
India’s HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017, prohibits HIV testing without informed consent, except in limited circumstances specified by law.
Consent for individual testing includes appropriate pre-test and post-test counselling. The law also protects the confidentiality of a person’s HIV status and prohibits discrimination in education, employment, healthcare and other settings.
Educational institutions can facilitate awareness and access to services, but they cannot force students to undergo testing or disclose their HIV status. Protecting confidentiality is particularly important on college campuses, where fear of discrimination or social exclusion may prevent young people from seeking testing and treatment.
HIV Transmission and Prevention
HIV spreads through certain body fluids from a person living with the virus.
Major transmission routes include:
- Sexual contact without effective prevention
- Sharing contaminated needles or syringes
- Transmission during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding without appropriate treatment
- Transfusion of infected blood, although blood screening has made this extremely rare in India
HIV does not spread through hugging, shaking hands, sharing meals, using common toilets, mosquito bites or other forms of casual social contact.
HIV risk depends on exposure and preventive measures, not a person’s identity or sexual orientation.
Condom use, sterile injecting equipment, pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis, regular testing and effective treatment can substantially reduce transmission.(2✔ ✔Trusted Source
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids
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Early Treatment Makes HIV Manageable
There is currently no cure for HIV, but
People who consistently take treatment and maintain an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV sexually. This scientific principle is known as Undetectable = Untransmutable, or U=U.
Effective treatment also protects the immune system and substantially reduces the risk of HIV progressing to
Karnataka’s college outreach programmed aims to make reliable information, voluntary testing and confidential counselling easier to access. Its success will depend on protecting consent, maintaining privacy, linking diagnosed individuals to treatment and ensuring that public messaging reduces rather than reinforces stigma.
References:
- KSAPS launches awareness campaign in colleges, workplaces across Karnataka to promote HIV testing-(https:www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2026/Jul/29/ksaps-launches-awareness-campaign-in-colleges-workplaces-across-karnataka-to-promote-hiv-testing)
- HIV and AIDS
–(https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids)